Harry Potter Fanon Wiki:Layout Guide/Out-of-universe
This out-of-universe Layout Guide is an official guide as to how an out-of-universe article should be structured. This guide uses examples taken from the in-universe Layout Guide. Title tag Example: }} * Used to alter the appearance of the article's title at the top of a page. * Main uses include to italicize the name of novel or other work. * Do not use this to alter the actual title (ex: Only displaying "Title" instead of "Title (disambiguation)") Otheruses or Youmay tags Example: Another example: * Generally used when it is possible that a user has found one article when they were actually looking for another of a similar or same name. * See Category:Disambiguation and redirection templates Spoiler tag Example: * Spoiler tags on an article alerts a user to any major plot spoilers that come from new sources (usually fan-fics) that are less than a month old * See Template:Majorspoiler Maintenance templates Example: * A series of tags used when the article is in need of some sort of maintenance. * See Category:Maintenance templates Header templates * See Category:Header templates. Infobox * Used to present vital statistics of subject. * See Category:Infobox templates. * Articles should not contain empty infoboxes. An empty infobox is defined as one in which no fields can be filled out other than the name of the subject due to limited information. Such infoboxes should be removed from the article until such time as more information can be added. Opening quote Example: * An opening quote is welcome for almost any type of article. * Quotes can be said by the article's subject (in the case of real-world people), or said by someone else about the article's subject. * Do not use links within a quote, unless it is the only mention in the article of a certain subject. Article body Example (for an article about a real-world person): '''Daniel Radcliffe' was... (insert introductory sentence or paragraph) Biography Early life ... ... ... Early career ... * headings and subheadings are usually not required for very small articles. Images Example: * Images should be placed where they are most relevant and should not interrupt the flow or the aesthetics of the article. * Placing them immediately underneath a heading or subheading usually works quite well. * Images should typically alternate from the right-side to the left-side. If there is a long infobox at the start, multiple images can be left aligned until the infobox ends. Quotes Example: * In addition to the introductory quote, further quotes may be used throughout an article. * Although quotes may be placed in the body of the article, a maximum of one quote is allowed only at the beginning of each section. * Quotes are included "as-is", with the original spelling and formatting found in the source of the quote. In the case of a typo or other error, sic may be included to indicate that the error is from the original source and not the article. Published narrative works Articles on published narrative works There are some guidelines for the organization of articles on published narrative works, that is, works that would be listed in an in-universe article's "Appearances" section and which have not been cancelled. *'Plot summary' summarizes the plot of the work, written in-universe and in the present tense. If the article is about a collection of multiple works (eg, a trilogy or story arcs divided in separate works), the summaries should be more condensed than if the article is about an individual work (eg, a single fan-fiction). If the article is about an individual work that has a publisher's summary, then a sourced Publisher's summary subsection should lead this section. *'Main characters' utilizes subsections to give brief, individual descriptions of major characters who appear in the work, and their role within. A character profile should be written in-universe and in the present tense. If pictures of the characters exist, they should be included on the right side of the page. Images should be sized so as to fit within their respective character profiles. If available, pictures of the characters from the actual work, or from a chronologically close work, are preferred. For very short works, a Main Characters section is not necessary. *'Development' discusses background, events, and decisions that brought about the development of the work. It also discusses ideas, decisions, and concepts discarded by the author(s) throughout the production of the work, as well as information on the work's publication. If a surplus of information exists, this section can be further subdivided into Conception and Production sections. This and the following sections should be written out-of-universe and in the past tense. *'Continuity' discusses past continuity used/referenced/retconned by the work, continuity errors, and significant continuity created by the work that has been later used/referenced/retconned. *'Reception' discusses response, reaction, and reception to the work, including reviews, significant fan response, awards won, and media spotlight. If no such information is available, this section need not be included. *'Legacy' is a section that discusses the impact of the work on later Harry Potter fan-fiction and fanon, and, if applicable, broader popular culture. If no such information is available, this section need not be included. *'Media' is a section which can be used for articles on individual works, such as novels, to include a cover gallery, if more than one cover exists. *'Appearances' uses and is only necessary for articles on individual works, such as a single novel or comic. It should not be used for articles on collections of multiple works, such as a trilogy, a story arc or series. For novels with a Dramatis Personae, the Dramatis Personae is listed at the beginning of this section's "Characters" sub-section. Each of these sections may be further subdivided if necessary. Notes and references Relevant policy: Harry Potter Fanon Wiki:Sourcing *List of sources for information in the "Behind the scenes" section. *Items are added to the list by placing Source goes here after the information tidbit in question. *To get the references to show up in this section, use the template. *References will only use periods at the end of the citation if the citation is a complete sentence. References that are not complete sentences will not use periods. See also *Links to related topics not already linked in article External links The External links section is a bulleted list of out-of-universe links from websites outside of Harry Potter Fanon. These links are commonly unlicensed and/or other unofficial sources of information, such as fan websites and Wikipedia articles. *The section is called "External links," even if the article only has one external link *For Wikipedia articles, use the template (example: gives you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter Harry Potter on Wikipedia) *Blog posts may be listed in the External links as necessary to supplement an article's coverage, but restrict Blog listings to posts of critical relevance. Any Blog post that is cited in the course of the article must be listed in the External links if not already listed in the Sources section. Category *Every article must have all applicable categories. *Categories should be listed in alphabetical order *MediaWiki allows use of the DEFAULTSORT magic word to eliminate unnecessary coding while still achieving the desired result of categorizing articles by last name (ie, one need not use Potter, Harry; use the below method) Category:Wizards Category:Males *Articles beginning with an article ("a," "an," or "the") should be categorized by the first significant word; for example, Al-Antidian Handbook, The. *Articles placed in categories should not also be placed in that category's parent category; for example, articles in Category:Hufflepuffs should not also be placed in Category:Hogwarts students.